{"id":8352,"date":"2017-10-02T10:19:48","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T14:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/?p=8352"},"modified":"2018-08-09T12:38:58","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T16:38:58","slug":"how-ethics-could-help-the-nfl-spark-social-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progressions.prsa.org\/index.php\/2017\/10\/02\/how-ethics-could-help-the-nfl-spark-social-change\/","title":{"rendered":"How Ethics Could Help the NFL Spark Social Change"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo courtesy of pixabay.com<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While many often turn to sports to enjoy a break from political discord, lately the pastime seems to offer a playing field for the most pressing social and political conversations of our generation.<\/p>\n

Last year, former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick<\/a> launched himself into the forefront of one such issue with a kneel heard around the nation<\/a>. Kaepernick silently protested the pregame National Anthem in response to police brutality and racial discrimination issues \u2014 rocking the league and resulting in the player\u2019s release from his NFL contract. Kaepernick remains out of work this season, however his charge has since been echoed in waves of demonstrations among athletes from leagues across the nation.<\/p>\n

Fueling the movement with a series of tweets<\/a> and public statements, President Trump called for fans to boycott games of kneeling NFL players, urged team owners to dismiss protesting athletes, name-called participating demonstrators and equated the movement with disrespect for the American flag. He reiterated these sentiments while rescinding an invitation to the White House made to the Golden State Warriors for their recent championship win.<\/p>\n

In response, the hashtag #TakeAKnee was born, garnering thousands of tweets nearly overnight.<\/p>\n

The demonstrations continue to grow as more players, even entire teams kneeled together through the anthem<\/a>. Accounts of players as young as eight were reportedly kneeling in solidarity<\/a> of the NFL protests.<\/p>\n

Celebrities Stevie Wonder, John Legend, and others demonstrated their support by kneeling<\/a> during recent music performances across the country.<\/p>\n

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP, stepped in to advocate on behalf of players and requested a meeting with the league<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The National Football League Players Association, NFLPA, released an in-depth statement with a short video supporting player protests<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The NBA also spoke out directly condemning the president\u2019s remarks. The Golden State Warriors issued a strong statement against the retracted White House invitation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And still others continue to speak out against the protests. The team owners, save a few, seem to be the one group keeping quiet. And in the days following the President\u2019s tweets, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released the following statement in response to President Trump\u2019s comments<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NFL and our players are at our best when we help create a sense of unity in our country and our culture. There is no better example than the amazing response from our clubs and players to the terrible natural disasters we’ve experienced over the last month. Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The short response was buried in the NFL newsroom and no real corresponding comment was made publicly; no social media content follow-up, no press conference.<\/p>\n

As public relations practitioners, it\u2019s important to ask ourselves how our message will be perceived among strongly opposing viewpoints. Elements like timeliness, values and transparency are integral to getting in front of the issue. It\u2019s best to begin any communications response from an ethical standpoint. Some ethical questions to consider when looking at the NFL response to this event include:<\/p>\n